In Victoria you can build a side or rear fence up to 2 metres, a front fence up to 1.5 metres within 3 metres of the street, and 1 metre if you're within 9 metres of a corner — without a building permit. Go above any of those and you need a permit, and for the front fence you also need your council's report and consent first.
That's the whole answer. Below is what it means for your fence.
The corner rule is a sight-line rule — it exists so drivers can see around the corner, which is why it applies to the whole 9 metres and not just the tip.
The masonry figure catches people out. A rendered or brick front fence hits its limit 300mm lower than the same fence in timber.
Not for a standard fence. A timber paling or Colorbond fence built inside all the heights above doesn't need one, which is why most boundary fences in Melbourne go up without any paperwork at all.
You do need one for anything over those heights, for a masonry fence over 1.2 metres, and for a retaining wall on or beside a title boundary or over an easement.
A permit isn't a refusal. It's a cost and a few weeks, and it's worth knowing before you fall in love with a 1.8 metre front fence.
If your front fence goes above the height for your street, the Building Regulations say the report and consent of the relevant council must be obtained before a building permit can be issued.
It isn't a planning permit and it isn't an automatic no. You set out what you want to build and why it's reasonable, and your council decides. Note that it's the council you apply to — not your building surveyor, who simply can't issue the permit until the council has consented.
That last one is the one people miss. If your land falls away from the street, a fence that measures 1.8 metres from your side can read as far less from the footpath, and that's an argument worth making.
Your planning scheme. The regulation defers to the planning scheme where one applies, so your council's scheme can set a different front fence height for your area. That's a two-minute question to the council counter.
A heritage overlay. If your property is in one, constructing a fence needs a planning permit under Clause 43.01-1 of the scheme — a completely separate process from anything above, and it applies regardless of height.
Swimming pool and spa barriers have their own rules, their own standard and their own inspection and registration requirements. None of the heights on this page apply to them. If your fence doubles as a pool barrier, tell us before you get a quote — it changes the build.
Tell us the height you want and where it sits. We check the rule that applies as part of the quote.